Chapter 174

In the end, Ranne and I had no choice but to endure the interrogation the entire time.

Every detail came to light by the time we neared our destination.

One young girl's shy first kiss had been laid bare for all the world to see.

Javert and Carmilla weren't the only ones. The others, who had been distracted by the view outside, gathered around too.

“My Lady kissed Sir Viktor, lips to lips... Ah, th-that's so bold...”

“Hey, I'm curious. What did it feel like? Was it better than being petted?”

“......I thought Student Ranne was an exemplary student.”

“Ha, so it really is true. The well-behaved cat gets onto the kitchen hearth first.[1]”

Everyone had something to say.

Ranne's shame finally exploded, and she shrank into herself.

She covered her burning face with both hands.

Her usual confidence was nowhere to be seen. The girl had curled up completely.

“Th-th-th-that is...”

Her voice trembled pitifully.

Her usual liveliness had long since been replaced by a feverish flush.

“L-Lord Viktor...”

Ranne hid entirely behind my shoulder.

Of course, I was in the same predicament, so there was no way I could help her.

Cool gazes fixed on me.

“Student Viktor.”

“Viktor.”

Red and green.

Had traffic-light colors ever felt this overwhelming?

“I knew you had a weakness for women, but I didn't think it was this bad.”

“Disloyal retainer.”

“At least it seems you didn't cross the line as students. If you had, I would have given you demerit points for indecent conduct.”

“Womanizing retainer.”

“So, how was the kiss? Were you happy? Were you enraptured?”

“Wicked retainer.”

“Student Ranne is beautiful, and she has a rather nice figure. I hear there are quite a few people in her year who admire her, too.”

“Faithless retainer.”

“So Student Viktor prefers younger women after all?”

“I-Is that what this means? Then I...”

It felt like I couldn't breathe.

Those two had been wary of each other the whole time, so why did they work together perfectly only at moments like this?

Seeing how smoothly their sentences fit together, I wondered if those two might unexpectedly get along better than anyone else in the group.

“Don't let your thoughts wander.”

Yes, ma'am.

I obediently endured the questioning.

The discussion of Ranne's unauthorized theft of a first kiss continued for hours, until the skytram cut through the clouds and reached Lusilion, our destination.

Ranne looked on the verge of tears as she spoke resentfully.

“I hate you...”

The girl responsible for causing this whole mess.

The pitiful violet-eyed girl stared at the bronze-skinned girl.

“Ugh, I hate Miss Caitlin...”

“So?”

Caitlin simply lay there with her seat reclined.

She answered Ranne's timid resentment with shameless composure.

“Think of it as the price for secretly getting onto the kitchen hearth first.”

As though it were completely right, the rest of the group nodded.

Ranne had no choice but to suffer a little longer.

Her face had turned as red as a carrot.

Feeling sorry for her, I sat down in my seat.

“Who said you could sit?”

“Get back on your knees.”

Yes, ma'am.

* * *

Lusilion, the sky island.

We had arrived at the stage we had been waiting for.

“Wow...!”

Lua's eyes sparkled.

An island floating proudly above the clouds, as if it held the sky in its embrace.

The sight before us was beautiful enough to deserve the word.

“How should I put it... I-it feels so close to the sky. It's amazing.”

“It's not bad. I don't know if it's worth making that much of a fuss over, though.”

“What a magnificent view.”

After getting off the tram, the group and I looked around at the sky island for a while.

There was an observatory nearby, along with all sorts of facilities. It immediately felt like a famous tourist destination.

“It's nice.”

I murmured my impression.

It was certainly a perfect travel destination.

I could understand why the tickets here had been so expensive.

Birds glided close between the elegantly rising buildings, while the clouds and sun drifted about as though they were residents of the island.

‘When I retire someday, it might be nice to live somewhere like this...’

After this world had reached its perfect happy ending, that was.

Lost in idle sentiment, I walked through the streets of Lusilion.

The clear weather and cool breeze melted the moment away.

Summer lived in the breath I drew deep into my lungs.

It was nearing its end, yet the faint warmth still carried the scent of groves.

As I walked through the vividly shining season, I thought about the autumn that would arrive in a few weeks.

‘Once that autumn passes, winter will come too...’

How many more winters would I get to see?

For a moment, I dwelled on that bitter thought.

Throb.

I touched my neck out of habit.

Shaking off those pointless thoughts, I pulled myself together.

By the time I came to my senses, the group had already spent nearly half a day sightseeing.

“It’s about time we started preparing.”

I signaled to the others.

Given the timing, it wouldn't have been strange for Blue Night to begin at any moment.

“You all remember the plan, right? You need to carry out your assigned roles without mistakes. The fate of this sky island rests on us.”

We had already planned everything out on the tram.

Everyone had to fulfill their assigned part like a piece of a puzzle.

Several million lives were at stake.

This was an event directly tied to the ending of this world.

After a quiet breath, the children's eyes grew calm.

“Hey... Are you sure we'll be okay on our own?”

Perhaps she had been worried all along. Caitlin, who had been looking around, spoke up.

“If this is such a serious matter, shouldn't more impressive people have come? Like a knight order or a mage tower...”

“That's an uncharacteristically weak thing to say, Miss Caitlin.”

“What the fuck? Anyone would think the same if it was something this big.”

“It’s fine. If we move troops carelessly and they catch on, it could become a disaster.”

We needed to make the most of our information advantage.

If we brought in a knight order or a mage tower and the Allied Forces noticed, it would be over.

At best, the timing would be delayed. At worst, Blue Night might happen somewhere else entirely.

Then there would truly be no way to stop it.

Moving secretly with a small elite force, like we were now, was best.

Besides, we had our own thorough plan to strike back against the calamity.

“We can do it. If it weren’t possible, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”

“......”

“You're the people I trust most.”

“......Damn it. Whatever happens, happens. If you say we have to do it, then we do it.”

The girl wore a complicated expression, but she nodded as if she had finally accepted it.

Caitlin seemed especially vulnerable to being told someone trusted her.

Maybe it was because she was always full of self-hatred and self-doubt.

To encourage her, I lightly patted her head.

“It’ll be fine.”

Everyone wore robes.

They were casual, but each had an awareness-reducing option that concealed their identity.

Each person held a thin mask in their hand.

“It’s been a while since the Slayers last went out.”

I grinned and tapped the mask I had put on.

The group covered their faces with masks of various colors.

“Let's go.”

A short signal.

After that, the group scattered to their assigned positions.

Carmilla and I formed a team and headed toward the center of Lusilion.

“Phew...”

“Are you nervous?”

“Is that not obvious? So many lesser creatures' lives are at stake.”

“Your Highness is noble. Ordinary vampires wouldn't care about the lives of lesser creatures.”

“Enough. Those should not be called ordinary vampires, but fallen vampires. Those who have forgotten the teachings must not be treated as ordinary.”

Leira de Levialan.

De Roni Giblaiage.

Slay, but do not be vulgar.

Live on, but do not be craven.

“Vulgar and craven creatures... I will set them right. I will make vampires noble and proud once again.”

Her red eyes were noble.

Her silver hair swayed through the summer breeze with unmatched pride.

So I walked several steps behind her.

“This will likely be like Lunar Eclipse again. You may encounter familiar faces.”

“I am prepared for that.”

Her bearing was steadfast.

The air around her resembled that of an old knight preparing for a holy war.

“Even if one is born a murderous fiend, choosing how to live is ultimately one's own decision. The noble do not believe fate is life. They believe life itself is their fate. Life is closer to one's attitude than one's birth, and attitude is the whetstone that sharpens one's fate.”

That was why she pitied lesser creatures despite being born a vampire.

Why she refused to be vulgar or craven.

Carmilla Blandir was someone who chose how to live.

Someone who made her attitude into her fate, transcending the species she had been born into.

“Vampires are a species born vulgar and craven. They take the blood of lesser creatures and make it into a pleasure. In other words, they are base. The lowest of the low. A species born with depravity within them. That is why they must restrain themselves for their entire lives to become noble. They must cultivate themselves for their entire lives to become refined.”

That was the life the girl envisioned.

The way she wished to live.

“Our ancestors practiced restraint and cultivation for a long time. They also passed down that attitude so later generations could become noble.”

Nobility.

“A vampire's nobility is their attitude. It is choosing not to kill even when one can. It is choosing not to indulge even when pleasure is within reach.”

Vampires were greater than any other species because they were born carrying the basest fate.

They were great because they suppressed that fate for their whole lives and cultivated themselves without end.

Carmilla revered that value.

As her retainer, I had a duty to support my master's path.

“So I will never forget my attitude.”

“I will follow you.”

It was a resolute declaration.

The air grew even more solemn.

We walked through the plaza, thinking of the vulgar creatures who would soon arrive.

Rumble.

How many hours had passed like that?

Then the atmosphere around the sky island suddenly shook.

The sky darkened, and a blue curtain began to cover the entire island.

“Your Highness, it’s a barrier.”

“I see it. It appears the Cult is behind this again.”

People nearby began to murmur.

Quietly, I looked up at the shadows descending from the sky.

‘New Kingdom-Cultist Allied Forces.’

A terrifying number of them were falling like hail.

I raised my black scythe and took a stance beside Carmilla.

A familiar mechanical sound rang out.

Ding!

[Linked Quest has occurred!]

[Linked Quest has occurred!]

[Linked Quest-01]

-Title: Apocalypse, Death.

-Details: Prevent Lusilion from falling. Defeat the Apostle of the Evil God, ‘the Blue Knight.’

-Penalty upon Failure: The end of the sky island ‘Lusilion’

-Reward upon Success: Obtain Merit Points (50000p)

[Time Limit: ???]

[Linked Quest-02]

-Title: From Many Scars

-Details: Stop the New Kingdom-Cultist Allied Forces.

-Penalty upon Failure: Spread of the fifth calamity, ‘Blue Night.’

-Reward upon Success: ???

[Time Limit: ???]

Whoooosh.

The summer air had turned cold.

A tingling smile twisted at the corners of my mask’s mouth.

“They’re coming.”

Blue Night.

The beginning of that dreadful war.

[1] “A well-behaved cat gets onto the kitchen hearth first” is a Korean saying that someone who seems meek may secretly be the boldest.

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